ajdelange
Well-known member
- First Name
- A. J.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2019
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 3,213
- Reaction score
- 3,405
- Location
- Virginia/Quebec
- Vehicles
- Tesla X LR+, Lexus SUV, Toyota SR5, Toyota Landcruiser
- Occupation
- EE (Retired)
It doesn't lock the rear wheels unless you put it in park so if the traction battery fails while you are en route you would have no problem coasting to the side of the road (except, of course, traffic) nor would the tow operator have any problem getting it onto the trailer.A different but related problem has surfaced. You're driving in a leftish lane on a throughway. Something (presumably battery-related) fails in your Tesla. Your display tells you to pull over because the vehicle's about to die. Before you can comply, it dies -- stops -- loses all power -- whereupon it locks the drive wheels so you can't push it out of the way, or tow it, or even easily load it onto a flatbed. Being stuck in the middle of a throughway is deadly serious! (Apparently it's the same with some other EVs.)
If I have any value here it is in being able to relate my experiences to those of you who have no BEV familiarity in the hope that you might benefit from them. They say wisdom comes from having experiences that wise people don't have. Where you do get into trouble with locked wheels is if you put it in park and the screen computer then fails. This, in itself, is not a problem unless you have set the PIN security feature. With a failed screen computer you can operate the car - drive it to the service center if it's not far. But if you use the PIN feature without the screen you can't enter the PIN and can't get it out of park. Now you can't move the car. But the tow truck drivers have a way around this. They carry a sort of chock like thing that they shove under the rear wheels (the parking brakes are on those wheels) and when they pull the car up onto the truck the tires ride up onto those things to some extent and skid on them onto the truck. Some rubber is left but not much. It's only a foot or two.
The message is: Think about whether you really want the security of the PIN feature!
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